Process and apparatus for making wall board and the like



16 1 4. WWW P. B. HUDSON PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WALL BOARD AND THE LIKE Sept Filed Dec. 5. 1921 {Sheets-Shem. 1

Sept. 16 1924.

P. B. HUDSON PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WALL BOARD AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 16, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,508,973 PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL B. HUDSON, OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING WALL BOARD AND THE LIKE.

Application filed December 5, 1921. Serial No. 520,082.

T all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, PAUL B. HUDSON, a.

citizen of the United States, residing at lVatertown, in the county of Jefferson and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes and Apparatus for -Making Wall Board and the like, of which the following is "a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings;

,This invention relates to method of and apparatus for making wall board, and the like, from pulp or similar material, and has for an object to produce a wall board or the like built up of the required thickness at a single operation, eliminating the disadvantages of winding and I laminations.

A further object of the invention is to pro- I vide an apparatus for carrying outthe to a s aced ro process whereby a cylinder rotating in a vat of pulp in the usual and-ordinary manner carries up a film which is projected from such cylinder upon a roller or felt the thickness of the deposit being controlled by the space intervening between the roller or felt and the cylinder and the rate of travel of such roller or felt relative to the cylinder.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatusfor carrying out the process of this invention wherein a cylinder of screened or perforate periphery is subjected at one point-.in its rotation to a blast of air or other fluid, which blows the adhering film of ulp from such periphery onller or felt, pilin up the deposite fibers thus blown to t e thickness intervening between the cylinder and the roller or felt, which said thickness progrosses with the roller or felt and the formation is continuous from the continued blowing of the pulp onto the traveling member.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises certain novel steps in the process, together with structural units, parts, elements, combinations, inter-actions and functions of the apparatus, as disclosed in the drawing, together with mechanical and functional equivalents thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed. V

In the drawings: I Figure 1 is a view in vertical elevation of a type of apparatus for carrying out the present process, the housing or walls of the vat or tank being broken away;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view showing in section the relation of the cylinder periphery, the roller or felt, and the air nozzle;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the air nozzles mounted upon the hollow shaft within the screened cylinder, part of which has1 been broken away to show such nozzles, an

Figure l is a sectional view through one of the nozzles taken on a plane at right angles to the section of Figure 2.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several parts of the several views of the apparatus.

The apparatus for carrying out the present process differs but slightly from an apparatus employed for the making of paper, or even the apparatus employed for making wall board, or the like, and comprises a vat or tank 10 of any usual and ordinary type and construction in which rotates a screened cylinder 11, also of the usual and ordinary type. The screened cylinder 11 rotates upon a hollow shaft. 12 which said shaft is stationary, the cylinder rotating about the same.

Within the cylinder 11 a plurality of nozzles 13 are rigidly connected with the hollow shaft 12 and communicate therewith by the ports 14, as indicated at Figures 2 and 4. The. nozzles expand laterally toward the periphery of the screen 11 and are provided with narrow or attenuated slots 15 located immediately below the screen. The width of the nozzles at the edge providing for, the'slot 15 is such as to occupy substantially the entire space intervening between the spokes 16 of the screen. It will be understood, of course, that the hollow shaft 12 is connected with any convenient source of air or other fluid under pressure, as for instance, steam, so that the air or steam passing into and through such hollow shaft 12 will be discharged through the attenuated slots 15 against the inner surf-ace of the screen of the cylinder, and by reason of the porosity of such screen will tend to blow from the screen the film of fibers indicated at 17 in Figure 2, such film being the usual and ordinary film adhering to the periphery of the rotating screen under such conditions.

A roller 18 is journaled upon a shaft 19 which is perferably, though not necessarily, made adjustable in any convenient manner, as by the adjustment shown conventionally at 20 in Figure 1. The requirement is that the roller 18 be spaced away from the periphery of the cylinder 11, as indicated at Figures 1 and 2. For some purposes and under most conditions a felt 21 will pass about the roller 18 and over and through such rollers and tightening members as is found convenient and as usually employed upon such machines The spacing of the roller 18 "away from the periphery of the screen 11 provides an interval between the felt 21 and the screen 11 to be filled by the fibers 17 blown from the periphery of the screen by the blast of air through the slot 15. As shown at 22 at Figures 1 and 2, this film of fibers blown from the screen in the general direction of the roller 18 will tend to pile up and fill the interval. The roller 18 is driven at such rate of speed relative to the travel of the cylinder 11 as to provide ample time for the depositing of the required quantity of fibers in such intervening space to produce a board of the required thickness. The adjustment of the interval between the roller 18 and the screen is by the manipulation of the adjusting member 20 and the variation of the rate of travel of the felt 21 and the screen 11 will vary the thickness of the board deposited, which will be carried about, as indicated at 23, on the felt 21 and may extend to any required or desired length.

The fibers which ar carried upon the periphery of the screen 11 as it rotates in the tank 10, have a tendency to assume a position corresponding to the circumference of the screen. The blowing of these fibers from the screen to or toward the felt 21, however, disarranges this uniformity of direction appearing'upon the screen and causes the fibers to be deposited without uniformity and interlaced and interlocked to completely felt the deposited sheet. By employing this structure asheet of a great degree of strength and uniformity in all directions is produced, exhibiting no tendency to separate in laminations and being constructed and deposited at a single operation, and when dried exhibits no tendency to warp or buckle.

The term wall board is used throughout this specification and in the claims merely as a matter of convenience and as defining one well-known article, but. it is to be understood that the invention, either the process or the apparatus is in 'no way limited to the production of the article understood by that name but includes the production of a board or sheet of any kind, size or thickness of any fibrous material and for any and all purposes without limit.

What 11 claim is:

1. The process of producing a wall board, or the like, consisting in blowing fibers from the periphery screen rotating in pea an,

iusoaeva of pulp into the space intervening between said screen and a member spaced therefrom and traveling at a lower speed to fill said spam. J

2. The process of producing a wall board, or the like, consisting in blowing the fibers from the periphery of a cylinder. rotating in a tank of pulp toward and into the space intervening between said cylinder and a continuously traveling surface, the thickness of deposit of the fibers being varied by varyin the difi'erential rate of travel of the sai traveling surface relative to said cylinder.

3. The process of producing a wall board, or the like, consisting of blowing fibers carried upon the periphery of a cylinder rotating in a tank of pulp at a uniform rate toward a traveling surface spaced from the periphery of the cylinder and varying the interval between the traveling surface and the cylinder and the rate of travel of the traveling surface to vary the thickness of th deposit of the fibers upon said traveling surface.

4.- The process of producing a wall board, or the like, consisting of employing a roller having a traveling sheet carried thereabout 7 and blowing onto said traveling sheet pulp fibers at a uniform rate, the rate of travel of said sheet being varied to vary the thickness of deposit of pulp on said traveling sheet.

5. An apparatus for producing wall board and the like consisting of a pulp tank, a cylinder rotating in the tank, a roller j ournale in spaced relation to the periphery of tli'cylinder, a hollow shaft for the cylinder journal, and nozzles carried by and communicating with the hollow shaft terminating in contiguity to the periphery of the cylinder and having attenuated discharge slots in the proximate edges.

6. An apparatus for producing wall board or the like consisting of a hollow shaft, a cylinder mounted to rotate. upon and about the shaft. nozzles carried by and in communication with the shaft and expanding laterally to occupy substantially the entire length of and terminating adjacent to the periphery of the cylinder and having attentuated discharge slots at their proximate edges. and a roller spaced from the cylinder providing an interval between the roller and the cylinder at the point adjacent the disllt charge nozzles. whereby pulp fibers blown from the cylinder by the nozzles will be projected toward the rollerand into the intervening space.

In testimony whereof hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PAUL B. HUDSQN. 

